U.S. President Donald Trump parted ways on Friday with acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and replaced him with conservative lawmaker and close ally Mark Meadows, who was a strong Trump defender during the Democratic impeachment drive.
Representative Meadows takes over as the White House struggles to put out a consistent message about the coronavirus crisis and as Trump enters into a bruising re-election contest.
He is the fourth chief of staff during Trump's three years in office, tasked with attempting to bring order to a chaotic presidency which began in early 2017.
Meadows is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina and was a combative defender of the president during the impeachment saga, so much so that Trump singled him out for praise at a February 6 event after the Republican-led Senate acquitted the president.
"He's a tremendously talented man, not just as a politician. As a human being, he's incredible," Trump said at the time.
Trump named Mulvaney to be his special U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland, just as he prepares to welcome Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to Washington for St. Patrick's Day ceremonies later this month.
A former senior administration official said the change had been in the works for a long time and was a "done deal" some time ago.
Trump announced the move on Friday night just after arriving at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending the weekend.
A screenshot from Trump's twitter. /CGTN
The decision comes as the Trump administration has faced criticism for its handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak. Mulvaney had been leading the inter-agency response to the virus until Trump designated Vice President Mike Pence to lead a whole-of-government effort more than a week ago.
Meadows chaired the conservative House Freedom Caucus from 2017-2019. Mulvaney was named acting chief of staff in December 2018 and Trump never made the appointment permanent.
(With input from Reuters)
(Cover: Mark Meadows speaks during a hearing on the Trump administration's proposed poverty line calculation changes on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., February 5, 2020. /AP)